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Best graphics selection with $800

P

Poisoner

Gawd
Joined
Jul 11, 2011
Messages
835
Okay, my graphics budget is about 800 dollars, of course I don't have to spend that much. I am building a new rig on the x58 platform. My processor is going to be an i7 970 and I have an 850w power supply. The board I am picking is the MSI Big Bang X-Power. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?CurImage=13-130-289-TS&SpinSet=13-130-289-RS&ISList=13-130-289-Z01%2c13-130-289-Z02%2c13-130-289-Z03%2c13-130-289-Z04%2c13-130-289-Z05&S7ImageFlag=1&Item=N82E16813130289&Depa=0&WaterMark=1&Description=MSI%20Big%20Bang-XPower%20LGA%201366%20Intel%20X58%20SATA%206Gb%2fs%20USB%203.0%20ATX%20Intel%20Motherboard

As you can see it has plenty of slots. My PSU only has four PCIe connectors which limits me to a two card configuration. Which two cards do I get?
 
Single 1920x1080, I will keep that until I get a large enough desk for three of them.
 
AMD/ATI
Couple of 6970's will put you around $700-750, Excellent performance for the money.

Nvidia
GTX 580 3GB - single card will be $600, Purchase a second card later for SLI/Surround. (upgrade psu possibly when purchasing 2nd card)

AMD your best option if you want to buy the cards now. Personally I'd buy one card now and purchase the second down the road after the next gen is released. Two 6970's will smoke the MSI Lightning 580 Extreme and only cost about a hundred more. You could also buy a couple of the GTX 570 2.5GB cards for $800 but you'll be limited to below 'high,ultra' settings with games in surround. Those cards are severely overpriced for the power.

Recommendations:
Get atleast 2GB VRAM on your video card bc of surround/eyefinity in the future.
Best bang for your money if you want to buy today is dual 6970s. Otherwise buy one really nice NVIDIA card and purchase the second one later.

I know a lot of people had luck with flashing 6950's into 6970's when they were released but I am unsure of specific brands/models that are recent proven unlockers. You roll the dice but could get nice jump in performance for a much less expensive card.
 
Last edited:
noteworthy said:
AMD/ATI
Couple of 6970's will put you around $700-750, Excellent performance for the money.

Nvidia
GTX 580 3GB - single card will be $600, Purchase a second card later for SLI/Surround.

AMD your best option if you want to buy the cards now. Personally I'd buy one card now and purchase the second down the road after the next gen is released. Two 6970's will smoke the MSI Lightning 580 Extreme and only cost about a hundred more. You could also buy a couple of the GTX 570 2.5GB cards for $800 but you'll be limited to below 'high,ultra' settings with games in surround. Those cards are severely overpriced for the power.

Recommendations:
Get atleast 2GB VRAM on your video card bc of surround/eyefinity in the future.
Best bang for your money if you want to buy today is dual 6970s. Otherwise buy one really nice NVIDIA card and purchase the second one later.

I know a lot of people had luck with flashing 6950's into 6970's when they were released but I am unsure of specific brands/models that are recent proven unlockers. You roll the dice but could get nice jump in performance for a much less expensive card.
Click to expand...

Thanks
 
noteworthy said:
Otherwise buy one really nice NVIDIA card and purchase the second one later.
Click to expand...

^^^...since your only going to use a single monitor at 1920 x 1080 then just get a GTX 580 or AMD equivalent and buy a second card when you get the multi-monitor setup
 
polonyc2 said:
^^^...since your only going to use a single monitor at 1920 x 1080 then just get a GTX 580 or AMD equivalent and buy a second card when you get the multi-monitor setup
Click to expand...

Can 850w handle a i7 970 and two gtx 580s? No GPU overclocking, just the CPU.
 
I 2nd getting a badass GTX 580.

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Mini-HDM...&tag=backgroundcolor-20&photos_3_rs_thumbnail

You can get the 3GB version for $549 bucks if you resell the free games and stuff that comes extra....way cheaper than newegg ( for the same card ) right now

Oh, and if your PS is a decent brand (I assume you buy good stuff by your budget here, lol) you should be ready to rock the next 3+ years of games :D
 
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Greene420 said:
I 2nd getting a badass GTX 580.

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Mini-HDM...&tag=backgroundcolor-20&photos_3_rs_thumbnail

You can get the 3GB version for $549 bucks if you resell the free games and stuff that comes extra....way cheaper than newegg ( for the same card ) right now

Oh, and if your PS is a decent brand (I assume you buy good stuff by your budget here, lol) you should be ready to rock the next 3+ years of games :D
Click to expand...

for $45 dollars more i rather just get this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127589

you heard what he said, he has $800 dollars to spend on a gpu, so why not get the best quality, the video card you recommended to him gets hot as hell and its bad for SLI down the road.
 
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I wouldn't spend $800 this late into the current videocard cycle.

I'd only spend a portion. Either one or two 2GB 6950 or a single GTX 570.
 
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